Monday, 24 August 2009

Eels in Ely

The Rivers programme also featured Peter Carter, the only traditional eel fisherman left in the entire Fenland, which reminded me that he got in the news earlier this year by reviving the medieval custom of presenting their tythes personally to the Bishop of Ely.He punted to Ely and gave the Bishop half a dozen wriggly creatures. Bet he was really grateful.Rivers followed Carter as he set traps made of withies, punting his boat in a traddy way. What the programme didn't mention was that the boat is a gun punt, and they had got him to do a demo of punt gunning as well. But that didn't make it onto the show.

I shouldn't really reveal this, or everyone will start doing it, but I used my finely honed journalistic skills and googled him, coming up with this: http://www.wwt.org.uk/article/239/1900/griff_rhys_jones_films_punt_gun_display_at_welney.html